1. Consumer Behavior
Ch. 7

2. Introduction

We have already seen and used an
individual’s demand curve. Now, want to
explain in more detail why it slopes
downward

Why do people demand goods and
services?
•
•
Receive satisfaction or pleasure from
consuming the good.
Economists terms this satisfaction utility.

3. Introduction

In economics, we are not try to explain
why people get utility from certain goods.
We take that as a given.

Example:
•
•
Some people like jazz, others hate it.
Economists say given an individual’s
preferences about jazz, how many jazz music
CD’s might they purchase.

4. Total and Marginal Utility

Total Utility (TU) - relates consumption of
a good to the utility derived from
consuming a good. (This could be many
units of a good)

Marginal Utility (MU) - the change in total
utility when consumption of a good
changes by one unit.
•
MU = ∆TU / ∆ Q consumed of a good

5. Law of Diminishing Marginal
Utility

Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility
- eventually, a point is reached
where the marginal utility obtained
by consuming additional units of a
good starts to decline, ceteris
paribus.

6. Law of Diminishing Marginal
Utility

Example
•
•
If I’m really hungry, I get a lot of
satisfaction from first slice of pizza.
If I keep eating pizza, the satisfaction
from the 8th slice would be much less
than that of the first slice.

7. Law of Diminishing MU
Notes about the Law of Diminishing MU
 Time period must be specified for law.
 Law tells us that eventually the
marginal utility curve will be downward
sloping.
 Law tells us that eventually the total
utility curve will become “flatter.”
•
Slope of the total utility curve is equal to
marginal utility

8. Marginal Utility
MU
MU
Q

9. Shape of MU

Eventually downward sloping
•

Law of diminishing marginal utility
Positive always
•
Rational behavior
• Consumer only purchases a good if they get
some positive utility from it.

10. Total Utility
TU
TU
∆Q
∆TU
∆TU
∆Q
Q

11. Shape of TU

Positive slope
•

Consumer only purchases a good if gets
some positive amount of utility (rational
behavior)
Slope gets flatter as Q increases
• Law of diminishing marginal utility

12. Consumer Equilibrium
Now that we understand the
concepts of utility theory - we will
use them to explain how
consumers make decisions about
what to buy

13. Consumer Equilibrium


For instance, I would much rather have a
Jaguar instead of my Honda
If I want to maximize my utility, why
don’t I buy a Jaguar?


Because it costs a lot more than the Honda
So if I want to maximize my utility, I
don’t just pick the thing that gives me the
most pleasure. I have to weigh the price
of the good in my decision as well

14. Consumer Equilibrium
So how can I compare a Jaguar and a
Honda? It’s like comparing apples
and oranges. Instead, I need to
somehow make them both
comparable.

15. Consumer Equilbrium
In order to do that I will need to
convert utility to utility per dollar.
This way, I can see that even
though the Jag gives me more
utility, I get more utility per dollar
from the Honda. So if I want to
spend my money wisely, I buy the
thing that gives me more utility per
dollar.

16. Consumer Equilibrium
Let’s say I walk down to the
cafeteria for lunch and they have
Pizza and Ice Cream.
 The pizza is $1 a slice and the Ice
Cream is $2 a scoop. I have $7 in
my pocket What do I buy?


17. Consumer Equilibrium
Remember, I want to choose the
combination of pizza and Ice Cream
that gives me the greatest possible
utility for my $7
 Consider the following table, which
states the total utility I get from all
possible quantities of Pizza and Ice
Cream


18. Utility Table
Ice Cream
Pizza
Quantity Total Util. Marginal Util. Total Util.Marginal Util.
0
0
--
0
1
24
29
2
44
46
3
60
56
4
70
58
5
72
59
6
72
59
--

19. Utility Table
Ice Cream
Pizza
Quantity Total Util. Marginal Util. Total Util.Marginal Util.
0
0
--
0
--
1
24
24
29
29
2
44
20
46
17
3
60
16
56
10
4
70
10
58
2
5
72
2
59
1
6
72
0
59
0

20. Consumer Equilibrium



We need to find the marginal utility per
dollar for both goods.
Consider the first scoop of ice cream MU 12 per dollar. MU of the first slice of
pizza 29 per dollar. So I want to buy the
pizza. Now I have $6.
Now I have to compare my second slice
of pizza (MU is 17 /$) with the first
scoop of ice cream (MU is 12 /$). I will
want to buy the second slice of pizza. I
have $5.

21. Consumer Equilibrium


Now I have to compare the third slice o
pizza (MU 10/$) with the first scoop of ice
cream (MU 12/$). I will want to buy the
ice cream. I have $3.
Now I have to compare the third slice of
pizza (MU 10 /$) with the second scoop of
ice cream (MU 10 /$). It doesn’t matter
which I pick, since they make me equally
happy. I’ll take the pizza. Now I have $2

22. Consumer Equilbrium


Now I have to compare the fourth slice
of pizza (MU is 2/$) to the second scoop
of ice cream (MU is 10 /$). I will want
to buy the ice cream. I have no more
money.
I bought 3 slices of pizza which give a
total utility of 56 and 2 scoops of ice
cream which give a total utility of 44.
My total utility from lunch is
56+44=100. There is no other
combination of pizza and ice cream that
give a greater utility for $7.

23. Consumer Equilbrium



What if the price of the ice cream dropped
to $1 a scoop.
Assignment: Convince yourself that I will
buy 4 scoops of ice cream and 4 slices of
pizza.
Note that when the price went down, I
bought more - THIS IS WHERE THE LAW
OF DEMAND COMES FROM.

24. Consumer Equilibrium




In summary, you need to convert
marginal utility to marginal utility per
dollar
Then compare MU/P for the two goods
and buy the one that gives the greatest
MU/P
Subtract the price from your budget
Compare the next available units of both
goods and repeat the process until you
are out of money.

25. Consumer Surplus

Consumer Surplus - the difference
between the price buyers pay for a good
and the maximum amount they would
have paid for the good.

Example:
•
•
•
I’m willing to pay $6 for a case of soda
Soda is on sale for $5 a case
Consumer surplus = $1

26. Consumer Surplus
This is the Consumer
Surplus for the
second case of soda
P
$9
S
$7
$5
0
D
1
2
3
Q

27. Consumer Surplus
Here is the generally
accepted method of finding the
total Consumer Surplus in
a market

28. Consumer Surplus
P
The area of this
triangle is the total
Consumer Surplus
S
P*
0
D
Q*
Q